Mystic

The man says to her- I composed a poem.

The lady replies- I gave you a gift for that.

A cursory glance at these two lines would suggest nothing. To some it would seem ludicrous while to some others it would even seem absurd.

But what is this all about?

Let me give the original lyrics in Tamizh – Naan Kaadalenum Kavithai sonnen kattiline mele/ Andha KaruNaikku Naan parisu Thandhen Thottiline Mele.

People who know Tamizh are a little lucky now as they can understand the lines. Unfortunately, the language of English cannot bring out the import of what the lines convey(I am a lover of English language and yet I understand the limitations each language has).

Literally translated the lines would mean-

I composed a poem on the bed/ I gave you a prize –on the cradle- for that KaruNa.

(sorry, no equivalent word for KaruNa in English.Can we say ‘compassion’?).

Ok, this is not a love duet. It is a lullaby sung by the father and mother to their two daughters. However, I can say with conviction that I have not seen any line from any other form of poetry which depicts ‘that act’ so subtly, so succinctly and so beautifully.

And to think that the same poet wrote ‘Life is just a Business/Birth is Income/Death is Expense’(Vaazhkkai Enbathu Vyapaaram/Adhil Jananam Enbathu Varavaagum/MaraNam Enbathu Selavaagum) or Ask the one who went and he will say ‘Come here’/Ask the one who came and he will say ‘Go there’(Sendravanai Kettaal Vandhu Vidu Enbaan/Vandhavanai Kettaal SendRu Vidu Enbaan).

In fact, in the second song quoted, there is a line which says ‘One gets wisdom after getting spoilt’(Ketta Pinbu Gnaani) and this one line is enough to define/depict/describe the poet who wrote all these.

Though this might sound controversial, my firm belief is that No other lyricist in Indian Cinema can come close to KaNNadasan . By saying this I don’t intend to denigrate other legends; nor do I want to sound chauvinistic.

I can back that statement of mine with thousands of examples, but let me focus on today’s song.

Whenever I even think of ‘ILamai Enum Poongaatru’ from ‘Pagalil Oru Iravu’(1979), I can’t help getting a feeling that on the day of composing, the Divine Power must have thought ‘This is the right time to give an immortal composition, a composition which would be termed as ‘eternal’ by generations to come.So I am blessing the three extraordinary souls to give their best’.

Man proposes. God disposes? No, here it was proposed by God himself!

As per the situation in the movie, it is a random meeting between a man and a woman and the inevitable happens. In simple terms, it is PMS between two strangers who were driven by that ‘L’ word and the ‘L’ here is not ‘Love’. At the end of it all, both walk away.

This situation may not be uncommon in the present day movies, but one must understand that this was a movie of the ‘70s during which misplaced Victorian morals-yes, applicable only to women - were ruling the roost in Tamizh Cinema(now don’t ask me if moral policing is not on now , but that is a different story).

But what makes this song unique is that except for the last stanza where the poet says ‘Oh the one who is left with dishevelled hair,is this your fate?’, there is nothing to suggest ‘victimisation’ or ‘immorality’. One is surely reminded of erotic poems of the sangam era , and the ‘Geeta Govindam’.

The poet starts his description calling youth as a gentle breeze and that it sings a song. What kind of a song? A melodious song of desire played by the VeeNa..

The first stanza is a simple and graphic description with the bee and the flower being used as symbols.

It is the second one which really stands out in my opinion. Now see this:

‘She forgot her question even before the question arose/And she fell..’

(Ketka NinaiththaaL MaRanthaaL/Kelvi Ezhumun VizhunthaaL).

The third stanza reminds me of the ‘KuRunthogai’ poem(from the Tamizh Sangam Literature)  which says,

‘Who am I to you? Who are you to me’?

Well, as I said earlier three extraordinary souls were blessed to give us this song.

If only it was not for SPB, I am not sure if the lyrics and tune would have attained the kind of eternity it has attained now. I can’t say anything more about the rendering as it speaks for itself.

This applies to the music as well, but I will fail in my duty if I don’t say a few words about the tune, the orchestration and the arrangement.

But first I would like to talk about an aspect which is very subtle and yet adds that beauty to the entire composition.

Quite often I talk about silence in his compositions. In ‘ILamai Enum..’, this factor is presented brilliantly and cleverly.

First of all, the Pallavi starts after the beginning of the taaLa cycle(and this is called as ‘anaagata eduppu’ in carnatic music parlance!). If one looks at the count, it is exactly after 3 micro-beats. Listen to the pause before SPB sings ‘ILamai enum’ after the prelude.

This is quite normal. But what is ‘abnormal’ is that the same no. of counts is left after two phrases in the first line of the Pallavi- that is after ‘PoongatRu’ and after ‘Or Paattu’- and then again after the next line- Sugam Sugam Athile Ore Sugam- and after ‘Or VeeNai’. This continues in the CharaNams as well with pauses for 3 micro-beats after phrases- say in the first CharaNam after ‘ILamai Malarin Meedhu’, after ‘KaNNai Izhandha VaNdu’, after ‘Dega Sugaththil Gavanam’ and after ‘Kaattu Vazhiyil PayaNam’. And the pattern continues in the other two CharaNams.

Phenomenal!

It is an undeniable fact that the addition of chorus voice almost throughout the song, creates a unique atmosphere.

It is also undeniable that the orchestration and arrangement-always his speciality anyway- are in line with the entire mood of the song whose tune –set in the minor scale-sounds very simple and yet sounds complex when one attempts to sing.

If the santoor in the beginning sounds like rain drops, the keys which follow give us a feeling of petrichor while the strings in mid-octave shows us a steady drizzle.

The higher - octave strings in the first interlude sound like a constant shower with the chorus and the flute showing us the dark sky-indicating things which are to follow.

What makes me go wild and calm at the same time is the guitar piece and the sound from the keys in the second interlude. It is like getting drenched in the rain wantonly throwing all caution to the wind. The higher- octave strings make it more intense while the santoor seems to give a mysterious smile.

Beautiful pure white water falls. This is how I can describe the higher-octave strings in the third interlude. What does the chorus voice indicate?

Fulfilment?

Ecstasy?

Completeness?

Well, the entire composition gives us a sense of joy, hitherto not experienced.

It seems as if the poet told the music composer

I gave you a Poem

And the music composer replied

I gave a Gift.

An Eternal Gift to the mankind as a whole!

Check this out on Chirbit

Music of Words, Dance of Music

What determines a great film song? Wordings or the tune? Meanings or the orchestral arrangement?

Well..this topic has been discussed and debated ad nauseam in the media and in many forums.But I am not sure if a proper answer has been found. As a matter of fact, it is next to impossible to find the answer because we are all guided by our perceptions, tastes and most importantly the way our ears have grown up over a period of time.

For example, a song like ‘KaalangaLil AvaL Vasantam’ or ‘Pon enben..’ still linger in our memory because the words, tune, rendering have gelled together so well(these are just 2 examples of the many immortal songs of the past).

During the earlier days, songs were tuned for the already written lyrics. Post-1970, this scenario changed and the wordings had to follow a metre set by the music composer(unlike what is popularly believed it is not ILaiyaraaja who introduced this concept though he was the first one to implement this fully!).But still, the final output-the songs- were great.

After 1976, all music directors invariably started following ‘words for tune’. But the difference between others and ILaiyaraaja was the orchestration, arrangement and the way instruments were used even as the lines were being rendered. But this does not mean that his tunes were in anyway inferior (in fact, I had discussed about this in detail in one of my earlier posts).Being very knowledgeable in Tamizh, Raaja always gave importance to the wordings.

And being a musically inclined person, Kannadasan had no difficulty in adapting to the new scenario(the same applies to Vaali).His creativity was as great as ever with words flowing like a non-stop stream as soon as the tune was played to him. His wonderful meaningful words added beauty to the music. As already mentioned in this community before, he gave as many as 16 different stanzas for ‘Ezhu SwarangaLukkuL’(Apoorva RaagangaL) and MSV sir and the director Balachander were in a quandary as to which one to use and which one to leave.

On his Birthday, I salute this greatest poet tamizh cinema has ever seen(and will ever see).He continues to live in his songs..

Much has been written in this blog(on the special birthday posts in 2009 and 2010)about the special relationship ILaiyaraaja and Kannadasan shared. And that is why, he respects Kannadasan a lot and even today given an opportunity, he praises Kannadasan to the sky (and not without reason).Starting with ‘Kannodu Kannu’(Paalootti VaLartha KiLi-1976), the Raaja-Kannadasan combination has given some marvels until ‘Poongaatru Puthithaananthu’ and ‘Kanne Kalaimaane’.

On this special day, we are going to see one of the gems which also has a very interesting story.As mentioned in the fifth paragraph, the names ‘orchestration’ and ‘arrangement’ acquired new dimensions after the entry of Raaja.At the same time, his detractors kept insisting that his music was drowning the lyrics and that he did not pay proper attention to the words.

Not sure if Raaja took this to heart and if wanted to prove a point. But one day during a composing session, something struck him suddenly.Maybe it had to do with the request of the Director I.V.Sasi-who would often quote a old hindi tune and ask for a tune similar to that.Raaja, who always loves challenges and who is also known for his rebel streak immediately decided to do something different.

The session was for a movie called ‘Pagalil Oru Iravu’and the year was 1979.I.V.Sasi explained the situation. The character(played by Seema) dreams of her marriage with the Hero Vijayakumar.The joy, ecstasy, happiness have to be shown in this sequence. As usual, he hummed a old hindi tune(I think a song from the film ‘Junoon’) and asked for a tune similar to that.Raaja took the harmonium, hummed a tune, wrote the notes and went straightaway for recording. And yes..before that Kannadasan was called and the lyrics were written in a jiffy(writing was a child’s play for Kaviyarasar).

Raaja now told him that he was planning to record the song without any melodic instruments and that the lead singer and the chorus would either hum or say dance jatis during the prelude, and the interludes.The baffled Director was all at sea. Already, it was not the tune he had asked for..Added to that was the absence of the instruments.But still he gave Raaja the green signal since he had a lot of confidence in his abilities.

The prelude: Just the humming from a set of lady chorus voices. The next set joins.Very subtle sound of the bells in the background and the voices climb up reaching a crescendo. Mohanam is in full flow in a matter of seconds. The first set of lady chorus again but this time the male chorus accompanies them in lower octave. New addition-Bass Guitar (conceived, and composed by Raaja without any trace of doubt!). A short question and answer session between the female and the male chorus is followed by the tisram ‘Dheemta’ 12 times.It is rounded off with the graceful humming that sounds similar to the beginning but a close listening shows the subtle change that leads to the Pallavi.

Now substitute these 7 variations with instruments like violin, veena, flute, guitar.Will the sound be different or will it be the same?

Pallavi:The poet uses the jatis beautifully and says, ‘My heart that dances ‘tam ta’ ‘dheem ta’ sings an epic.Tala is ‘dheem ta dheem ta’ Mela is ‘dheem ta dheem ta’and the Ragam is Mohanam. The entire sequence depicted in a matter of 3 lines!

1st Interlude: ‘Dheem ta’ ‘Ta dhi na’ ‘Ta ri ki ta tham’’Ta ri ki ta ta ka’.Dance syllables wonderfully sketched and painted with the colours called Laya and Raga.Marriage between Mohanam and Tisram!

1st CharaNam:’Time has come to realise and cherish my dreams.Love God has brought a lot of poems.Physically I have changed; mentally I have changed.The new river breaks the sluice gates and dances’.
Look at the brilliant use of words by the poet and the beautiful use of the raga by the composer with the subtle changes in the octaves until they reach the uppermost in the last line.The ‘janta swaras’ make the already beautiful Mohanam a Beauty Queen!

2nd Interlude:Three sections. First one only the jatis.Second one –a set very innovative and novel syllables.Third one- Just the sangatis in ‘akaaram’.

Laya Natana Raga Raaja!

2nd CharaNam:’’Beautiful new relation’ says the God today. The boon of youth-shyness- I feel it today. Fruit has ripened. My heart has blossomed. My happiness knows no bounds.But is this the end?Are there not many more things to follow?’

The last line is the clincher- Music, Dance and friendly spats..

Meaning and realities of life in just one line.

Spontaneity, creativity, intelligence and most importantly the propensity to do something new and different- Are these not the features that distinguish geniuses from mere mortals?

And that is why the songs of Kannadasan and the music of ILaiyaraaja exist and will continue to exist forever!

(Tailpiece: The awe stuck I.V.Sasi praised Raaja non-stop after the recording of the song and cursed himself for asking such a genius to imitate some other used tune.He went on to say that he would show many images of Seema while picturising the song to which Raaja replied that his duty was over and picturising was not his cup of tea.After watching the visuals about 30 years after the release of the movie, I felt that if only Raaja had interfered in the ‘visualisation’….one of the greatest compositions wouldn’t have been murdered so garishly and grotesquely!)

His words..His silence..

The chubby faced actor said this recently in a TV show:

“My father was very close to him. They would have friendly banters and quarrels now and then. One day, he landed up at our house early in the morning and said he wanted to see my father.My father was sleeping upstairs and I called him on the phone through the phone using the extension button.My father refused to see him.When I told him this, he smiled and said ‘Oh..he is still angry with me. Doesn’t matter. Please tell him that I am going to the US and will be back after a month. I came to say Bye to him..".

"But he never returned.This happened in 1981.My father was alive for another 10 years and not a single day passed without my father saying ‘He came to see me the last time.But I didn’t see him.. How bad on my part! ”

The ‘He’ here is Kannadasan.

Friendly banters and fighting with friends were not new to this gentleman. But the best part is he would do this only with a select few ‘just for the fun of it’.

Once he and Shivaji had a fight and both were not on talking terms.But he continued to write for his movies.That was the time when the Shivaji-Bheemsingh-Kannadasan-Viswanathan-Ramamurthy combination was at its peak.He wrote a song and asked MSV to show it to Shivaji.It seems Shivaji started crying the moment he read the pallavi.

The song was:
‘Ennai Yaarendru Enni Enni nee paarkiRai..Idhu Yaar Paadum paadalenru nee ketkiRai..’

MSV sir and Kannadasan too had a very special relationship.Their composing sessions were a treat to watch.It seems MSV would tell him ‘What are you writing anne..Even I can write better’ and Kannadasan in turn would say ‘You are not able to set my song to tune and are shifting the blame’.Both would even use unprintable language. But the session would end with one praising the other.Their mutual admiration was something that cannot be described in words.

People who have watched such spectacles live describe the events with awe. But all of them maintain that it was Kannadasan who would initiate the ‘fight’Why?Because he loved MSV so much that he enjoyed pulling his leg.

Not only did his face look like a child. He was a child at heart.
But when it came to writing, he was unparalleled and incomparable.

That is Kannadasan.

I have already said this many times.There has never been and there can never be any other lyricist as great as Kannadasan.There can only be one ‘Kaviyarasar’.If some people claim themselves to be ‘Perarasar’,they are cheating themselves!

Today is the birthday of Kannadasan and MSV. I wish a Happy Birthday to both. The physical body of Kannadasan is no more.But he lives and will continue to live with his immortal songs.

Before I take up the Rare Gem of today and Raaja sir’s association with Kannadasan, I would like to quote a few lines from a MSV-Kannadasan song:

The Hero, a writer who writes with a pen name Gowrimanohari falls in love with a lady. What is great or different about it? He is a widower with 6 children and is in his middle ages.
The Heroine sings ‘I saw Gowrimanohari in the form of a man’(the brilliant MSV set this song in pure Gowrimanohari ragam!).

The second charaNam shows us why Kannadasan is a genius.

‘Malai meethu adiththaalum Kaatru.Adhu Kadal meedhu tavazhnthaalum kaatru.Vaythodu vanthaalum kaadhal,Adhu Vayathaagi Vanthaalum kaadhal.’

(Breeze is breeze whether it blows over the mountain or over the sea Love is the same whether it comes during youth or in old age!).

With this, let me turn my attention on Raaja sir and Kannadasan and today’s rare gem.

In fact, I had written about their association and the mutual admiration many times in this community.

Raaja was a great follower and fan of Kannadasan right from his younger days.He still remembers the poem Kannadasan wrote when Jawaharlal Nehru passed away in 1964.

Kannadasan warmly welcomed Raaja to Tamizh cinema music adding the line ‘Raaja vaa..Raaja vaa.. ‘ in the song ‘Kannodu Kannu’(Paalootti VaLarththa KiLi-1976).

The combination gave some unforgettable songs(many of which have been discussed in this community) for 5 and half years.As fate would have it, Kannadasan wrote his last two songs for Raaja on the eve of his departure to the US in 1981.

There are many personal favourites but today I am taking up a song from ‘Pagalil Oru Iravu’, a 1979 movie. Somehow one song ‘obscured’ the beauty of other songs in this album.Maybe that song is very powerful and is indeed one of my all time favourites. But the gem of today is ‘Kalaiyo Silaiyo’, another beautiful composition not known to many.

The most striking aspect of the composition is the silken softness.The song describes the beauty of a young and innocent girl.

Other lyricists would have resorted to simple ‘Maane Thaene..’and gone on to write some nauseating words.. or would have given computer to Brahmma and imagined about her laugh being like the sound of a telephone. But not Kannadasan!

Before that, let us see the musical part first.

The prelude itself is so meditative that it makes our eyes close automatically. The sound of bells and the mesmerizing flute are steeped in tranquility.

The tune of the Pallavi in the melodious voice of Jayachandran is simple and beautiful.

The Violin orchestra in the first interlude is infused with haunting air. A very different combination of sitar and flute is the icing on the cake.The twin-violins with the Bells and the bass guitar in the background captivate our hearts.

The CharaNams radiate softly .The lines are tender and are piercingly sharp.

The second interlude is impeccably deep.The first part sparkles with the violins and the Bass Guitar while the second half-again a combination of sitar and flute but this time sounding very different- is dainty.

Let us now look at the lyrics.

He says ‘Are you the epitome of fine-arts?Are you a sculpture? Or are you like the Golden Deer? Are you a fruit? Or are you the parrot? Or, are you the moon who came on a walk to see this Earth?’

Though the words sound very simple, there are a lot of inner meanings.
Awed by the beauty of the girl, he sees her as a sculpture as well as the art form; Bird as well as the Fruit.

He also feels for a moment that maybe this is not true..Because it is impossible for such a beauty to exist.So, he says ‘Are you the Golden deer’?(we all know the story of Golden Deer in Ramayana).

He then imagines that the Moon has descended on the Earth(it has come on a picninc!).

Poetic beauty at its best!

In the first CharaNam, he says ‘Is this the dancing chariot walking? When will the mind shed its innocence and blossom like a flower? A beautiful maiden with the youth like the rain of flowers..’

Please do not miss the ‘Blossoming of the flower’ followed by the ‘Rain of flowers’!

The second CharaNam is a marvel.

We all know the power of silence.Here, the poet gives a completely different dimension to the silence of the girl.

He says ‘Is your silence the code/secret language?’(the use of ‘paribhaashai’ here is very noteworthy.I am not aware of any other film song using this word!).

‘Gestures that I am not able to understand-maybe it is the respect you have for me and my love’.

‘Child-like enthusiasm and energy –a beautiful girl!’

The last line ‘Thogaiyin Bhaavamo’ can be interpreted in many ways.
Thogai-means a girl. It also means a peacock feather.
Peacock is known for dancing.
Therefore, one could interpret it like ‘a beautiful girl’ or ‘a dancing girl’ or even ‘as beautiful as a peacock’.

His words mean so much…

At times, I even feel how would it be if only he was alive today.. But I thank God that he is not alive to see the murder of Tamizh. Murder in the name of ‘semmozhi’ by people who can not even say ‘Yaathum oore yaavarum keLir’(யாதும் ஊரே..யாவரும் கேளிர்..) properly.

As I said, Kannadasan’s words mean so much.. Now, let silence carve new meanings and teach all these people who murder the beautiful language and who ‘adorn’ the language with vulgarity and expletives..

Mouname Paribhashai..